Kimbolton Castle

Originally a medieval castle but converted into a stately palace, Kimbolton Castle was the family seat of the Dukes of Manchester. It now houses Kimbolton School.

Best known as the final home of Henry VIII's first wife - Catherine of Aragon - the original Medieaval wooden Motte and Bailey Castlle was rebuilt in the Tudor period. Catherine was sent here in April 1534 for refusing to give up her status as a catholic or deny the validity of her marriage to the king. She died here in January 1536 and her ghost reportedly haunts the corridors still today.

The castle was bought by Sir Henry Montagu, later 1st Earl of Manchester, in 1615. His descendants owned the castle for 335 years until it was sold in 1950.

Charles Edward Montagu, the 4th Earl who was created 1st Duke of Manchester in 1719, had many works of reconstruction carried out between 1690 and 1720. Sir John Vanbrugh and his assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor redesigned the facades of the castle in a classical style, but with battlements to evoke its history as a castle, the portico was later added by Alessandro Galilei. The Venetian painter Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini redecorated some of the reconstructed rooms in 1708, including the main staircase and the chapel. Rich, gilded furnishings in a Louis XIV-inspired style were commissioned from French upholsterers working in London.

For a later duke, Robert Adam produced plans for the castle gatehouse and other garden buildings, including an orangery. Only one of these buildings, the gatehouse, was constructed in around 1764. Mews buildings were added to provide stables, and an avenue of Giant Sequoias was planted in the 19th century.

The castle was used by the Royal Army Medical Corps during World War II, and the 10th Duke of Manchester sold the castle to Kimbolton School in 1950. The furnishings were scattered in sales and some have come to national collections. 

Kimbolton Castle is open to groups by arrangement throughout the year, including evenings, although access during Kimbolton School terms is restricted by School usage. During school holidays, requests for mid-week visits can usually be met.

On the grounds of the castle is Warren House, a former warrener's lodge converted into a late 18th-century folly on command of one of the castle's inhabitants to add interest to his horizon, complete with a single decorative facade facing the castle; it is grade II* listed and owned by the Landmark Trust.